Dieter Rams Quotes

Good design should be honest.

Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If it isn't ethical, it can't be beautiful. But if it isn't beautiful, it probably shouldn't be at all.'

I stayed true to what I thought was good design no matter who it was for.

Good design should follow looking into the products and reputation of clients who approach you, but this does not mean you have to follow them into bed.

Really successful designs can be created without software produced "special effects." Identities do not NEED bevels, gradations, 3-D imagery, Web 2.Oh-Oh and other oh so "special" treatments to be great design solutions for clients.

I think there is always a need for pure design. With pure design, you don't need so much decoration.

I don't particularly follow the Bauhaus school of design, where you make everything into a black box - simplify it.

It is difficult to separate oneself from one's design moralities.

Design should not dominate things, should not dominate people. It should help people. That's its role.

Good design is not an applied veneer.

Good design means as little design as possible.

Good design is honest.

Good design is as little design as possible. Less, but better - because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.

Practice design, Not Decoration: Don't just make pretty talking points. Instead, display information in a way that makes complex information clear.

It became very important for me to stand up and design with a conscience for environment, you know? Just because you like clothes doesn't mean that you have to throw your principles out the window.

The problem is not software 'friendliness'. It is conceptual clarity. A globe does not say, 'good morning'. It is simple and clear, not 'friendly'.

Good design is being able to put a $100,000 thing next to a $20 thing. If it looks right and it works then it works. It doesn't have to be expensive; it's all about the high meets low for me.

Everything that can be said, can be said clearly.

Simple and intuitive design is what inspires and drives me.

Good design, at least part of the time, includes the criterion of being direct in relation to the problem at hand - not obscure, trendy, or stylish. A new language, visual or verbal, must be couched in a language that is already understood.

Effective communication is a key factor in the success of your product.

Here's the general theory: To clarify, add detail. Imagine that. To clarify, add detail. And clutter and overload are not an attribute of information, they are failures of design. If the information is in chaos, don't start throwing out information, instead fix the design.

To design a desk which may cost $1,000 is easy for a furniture designer but to design a functional and good desk which shall cost only $50 can only be done by the very best

A design isn't finished until someone is using it.

Simple design, intense content.